Author
Topic: Zelichan-Noobie's pies A journey to making a great pie (Read 9577 times)

I'm really new to the pizza making game. I'm trying to improve and hope to with the wonderful help of everyone here. I've been using a bread machine to make the dough so far. I've got a pizza stone, paddle and some pans. I've made pizza on the stone, on pans or in a cast iron skillet. I'm at a point where my pies are edible. I want them to be off the charts good. I have a long way to go.

Comparing how done the cheese is on top of the pizza with how pale the color of the crust is, it would lead me to think you are not fermenting your dough for very long. Is it only fermenting for a few hours? What is your dough recipe and method? With that info I think we could get those pies even better.

Comparing how done the cheese is on top of the pizza with how pale the color of the crust is, it would lead me to think you are not fermenting your dough for very long. Is it only fermenting for a few hours? What is your dough recipe and method? With that info I think we could get those pies even better.

Thanks for your post. I'm so new to all this I'm still using the bread machine I got as a gift and the recipe that came with it. I know it's probably not the best recipe ever.

I put in the bread machine on dough cycle at 10:00 am. I got a call and had to step out. I got back at 3:00pm. I took the dough out and put it in a oiled plastic container. I left it alone until around 5:00pm. I made the pizzas.

I put the remaining dough in the fridge. It's been in there since Sunday. I will make pizza tonight with it.

I do have a kitchen aid mixer. I want to get a kitchen scale and thermometer try to make some the good recipes here in the future.

scott123

Until you get a wood fired oven and start making Neapolitan pizza, always grate the cheese.

As I think you're figuring out, a digital scale is critical. If you want any kind of consistency, you should purchase one before your next batch of dough. If you want to put in some time researching a good one, that's great, but, imo, it's way better to have a cheap Walmart one than no scale at all. Once you get a digital scale, come back and we'll have a much better recipe for you.

Are your containers round? A round container goes a long way in helping you to shape a round pizza. Practice also helps. Here's a good video on stretching (ignore the rolling pin stuff):

Make an extra sacrificial dough ball just to practice stretching with and stretch it as far as you possibly can.

How hot does your oven get? Are you pre-heating the stone as high as your oven will go? How long are you pre-heating the stone for? Does this oven have a broiler in the main compartment?

"Off the charts" pizza needs consistently measured ingredients as well as consistently fermented dough. You might run across dough recipes where the dough is made one day and either used that day or 3 days later, but an "off the chart" recipe will have a much smaller window of usability. You want to pick a time frame that works for your schedule, preferably 2 or 3 days, use enough yeast so the dough doubles in that time frame, and stick to that schedule every time. In other words, develop a 2 day dough and always, if possible, make it 2 days in advance.

As I think you're figuring out, a digital scale is critical. If you want any kind of consistency, you should purchase one before your next batch of dough. If you want to put in some time researching a good one, that's great, but, imo, it's way better to have a cheap Walmart one than no scale at all. Once you get a digital scale, come back and we'll have a much better recipe for you.

I'm going to look for one today on amazon. I saw a few within my price range the other day.

"Off the charts" pizza needs consistently measured ingredients as well as consistently fermented dough. You might run across dough recipes where the dough is made one day and either used that day or 3 days later, but an "off the chart" recipe will have a much smaller window of usability. You want to pick a time frame that works for your schedule, preferably 2 or 3 days, use enough yeast so the dough doubles in that time frame, and stick to that schedule every time. In other words, develop a 2 day dough and always, if possible, make it 2 days in advance.

That makes sense. I usually make the dough and cook it that day. I've been reading here of fridging it for a couple of days. I can work with any time frame that involves days. I can make it the night or couple of nights before I plan to cook.

scott123

Below are some good deals on an infrared thermometer. IR thermometers are generally cheap/made in China, but, for the most part, are rarely defective. One brand is generally not any better than another. I'm not including these models because they're the best, but because they're the cheapest. If you can find something cheaper, go for it.

Zelichan , Looking at all your pies I like the pepperoni ones the best. From a pictorial point of view they are the cleaner looking pictures. The toppings are distinct and separate. They look nice.I agree with Scott about the round proofing containers. It also helped me to draw a circle or at least 4 spots N,S,E,W, on my board in order to stretch the dough into a circle. Not that circles make it taste any better , but may be more pleasing to the eye.Is there a particular reason why you are not mixing your dough ingredients either by hand or in a mixer? I find one of the most pleasing parts of making the dough for pizza or pasta is the hand feel, the kneading is fun! Try it, you may like it.Learning new stuff is great, especially when you can eat it. Keep up the good work.

Below are some good deals on an infrared thermometer. IR thermometers are generally cheap/made in China, but, for the most part, are rarely defective. One brand is generally not any better than another. I'm not including these models because they're the best, but because they're the cheapest. If you can find something cheaper, go for it.

Zelichan , Looking at all your pies I like the pepperoni ones the best. From a pictorial point of view they are the cleaner looking pictures. The toppings are distinct and separate. They look nice.I agree with Scott about the round proofing containers. It also helped me to draw a circle or at least 4 spots N,S,E,W, on my board in order to stretch the dough into a circle. Not that circles make it taste any better , but may be more pleasing to the eye.Is there a particular reason why you are not mixing your dough ingredients either by hand or in a mixer? I find one of the most pleasing parts of making the dough for pizza or pasta is the hand feel, the kneading is fun! Try it, you may like it.Learning new stuff is great, especially when you can eat it. Keep up the good work.

Mark

Thanks for the reply. I have been using the bread machine as I got it as a gift and felt I should use it sometimes. Of course I posted the obligatory thank you with the pictures to the gifter. I will be more "hands on" on the next batch.

I'm going to pull the trigger on a scale this week. I will hopefully improve greatly as a result.

Thanks. I felt like $30 wasn't to much coin to drop for trying to improve. I hope it improves my pizza greatly.

Now all I have to do is figure out how the whole baker ratios thing works.

The items arrived last nite. Here's a picture....

With a scale bakers percentages are much easier to work with than measuring. Just put a bowl on the scale and fill it until you get the correct weight. Use the dough tool on the home page of this site to get your recipe amounts.

With a scale bakers percentages are much easier to work with than measuring. Just put a bowl on the scale and fill it until you get the correct weight. Use the dough tool on the home page of this site to get your recipe amounts.

Okay I guess I was in Mad scientist mode tonite. I used the Lehmann Pizza Dough Calculator and punched in the numbers. I went for kinda [I hope] middle of the road. I used "bread machine" yeast. I'm not sure what type it is. I let the Kitchen aid kneed it for 7~8 minutes. It's in a plastic container in the fridge now. I'm guessing I'll make pizza tomorrow night or Saturday. I don't know if it's some mental thing but It seems like this dough is already better than the previous attempts.